While Point Loma’s Pointer football team finished the season with a respectable 8-4 record, a look at the just-concluded San Diego Section CIF playoffs shows the Dogs were a tougher breed than many might have realized when sizing up local championship teams and how they stacked up against Point Loma during the season.

Lincoln’s Hornets ended the Pointers’ season Nov. 16 in a quarterfinal game played at Lincoln. The score of that game was 21-17, with the Hornets having to fight back from a 17-14 deficit in the game’s final five minutes.

Earlier in the season when the two teams met — again at Lincoln — and the Hornets escaped with a 19-14 win when the Pointers committed numerous turnovers.

The two losses to Lincoln were by a combined total of nine points.

That’s the same Hornet team that annihilated Ramona 42-14 Dec. 2 to win the Div. III CIF title at Escondido’s Chick Embrey Field. The Pointers came closer to defeating the Hornets than any other playoff opponent.

On Nov. 2, the Pointers faced rival Madison with the Western League championship at stake. The Warhawks topped the Pointers by 14 points (28-14) to claim the crown.

But those same Warhawks who were underdogs against a favored St. Augustine team then went on to win the CIF Div. IV title also by a 14-point margin (35-21) on Dec. 2.

The fourth Pointer loss, coming in the season’s second week at South Bay’s Olympian, was the most lopsided of the season. The Dogs came up on the short end of a 38-10 final in that game. But the Eagles went on to an 11-0 record under the leadership of 71-year-old coach Gil Warren before falling to Lincoln 20-7 in the CIF semifinals.

Following Olympian’s loss to the Hornets, Warren announced his retirement after 28 seasons that began in 1967.

While it does not change their final record, it is notable that three of the Pointers losses were to eventual CIF champions, and all of these losses were by a total of just 23 points.

EXTRA POINTS

The Pointers will get another opportunity against the Hornets in a preseason game next season, tentatively set for Pete Ross Stadium.

Several varsity players have traded in their football equipment for basketball jerseys, while others will join a talented wrestling team. The soccer team will also benefit from the addition of the football place kickers.